82-Year-Old Barbara Walters Has the Chicken Pox, Which Is Pretty Scary

In a scenario that's ripe for terrible Twitter jokes but actually pretty frightening, Whoopi Goldberg announced this morning on The View that co-host Barbara Walters has the chicken pox, a disease most associate with schoolyard days — even though adults can have it bad. Walters was transferred to a New York hospital with the hope that she'll be home soon, the Associated Press reports. News of her ailment comes after she fell and hit her head earlier this month.

Per ABC, Goldberg told viewers on the show this morning: "We want to give you an update on Barbara. You all know that she fell and cut her head 10 days ago, and then was running a temperature, but it turns out it is all the result of a delayed childhood. Barbara has the chicken pox. She'd never had it as a child. So now she's been told to rest, she's not allowed any visitors. and we're telling you, Barbara, no scratching."

And while yes, of course, people have taken to Twitter with Baba Wawa-inspired jokes (looking at you, Bodhi Elfman), chicken pox in people Walters' age—83—is nothing to joke about. The AP explains that the disease "can be serious in older people because of the possibility of complications like pneumonia." Adults are among the "people who may have more severe symptoms and may be at high risk for complications," according to the CDC, which takes a look at the complications that can arise from adult cases of the chicken pox.